i was thinking witch is better and y lock,shaman,mage

Id be interested in knowing how please.

the only way i can see a shaman beating a lock is with spell disruption and a good head on himself. shamans are going to fear dot you throughout the battle it is key to know when to shock spell disruption. But ya i would say this would be a tough match but i would say a shadow priest would be tougher because they have fear and can heal. In general the character most likely to beat the other classes would be the shadow priest.

i meant locks are going to fear dot you lol typo

Tremor totem for fear, earth shock for casting

tell me how u are gonna down an affli lock whose drain life ticks for 800

if you want to beat any other class just get that set that makes your lightning bolt 27k crit(if your elemental) then just kill them in 2 seconds

man lock can take a shaman in 1v1 if they just know how to play abit. i have been doing pvp since lvl 60 and in lvl 70 my 5v5 was nr1 in s2, and the lock from my 2v2 and 5v5 coulde take me. not easy but they won (drain life)+hs.

the only way to beat a lock is if they suck...period

Not true dude i own locks all the time its a kewl thing called grounding totem and tremor totem and for there summon an fire elemental totem

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Id be interested in knowing how please.

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I drop grounding, tremor and mana spring. The locks usually use void/felgaurd and i just run up to lock attack madly with my weapons. When grounding gets destroyed I earth shock until CD's up, if tremor gets destroyed I put it down again :P. I have bad, fast weapons for an enchancment shaman but I pretty much attack widly and WF and hes dead quickly.

You have fought 1v1s vs a warlock using a VW?  If thats the case it doesnt really count as the guy was clueless. ;)

locks use VW in pvp sometimes cus of the shield the VW can make

Not vs any class that can purge/dispel unless they are clueless.  BGs/arena locks use puppy unless they know their opponent's setup.

Purge the Wv shield, cool thing to do when a desperate wlock tries to save themslves by using shield:)

sorry for my bad grammar, themself ofc

wow... if you cant 1shot a lock/mage... reroll

Key to beating a lock is avoiding fear.....you can heal thru all their DOTs once you finish him.

Try one-shooting a lock with 13K hp....

how often in battle will you wand something instead of trying to save your own ass

between the two, Mages are easier to be beaten. i always go to this set up when 1v1 a mage. BTW I am Enhanced :P

Purge first, they will freak out when their Int Buff and Shield are gone and recast, I usually pugre twice if they do that. (If they don't recast their buffs then half the battle is already won.) If they don't recast then I'll quickly place my grounding totem (you can use Earthshock but you use less mana this way. Also you will want to save the earthshock for some of the bigger spells) and run close as you can so you can stormstrike. Most Mages won't even relize that you droped the totem, so they will finish the cast. Once you stormstrike, place the earthbind totem. More times than not they will try to freeze you in place so they can run, This will insure that they don't move to far. then at this time you can do either two things... use your chain lighting to do some damage or if you taken some damage while moveing up then keep on healing yourself  but don't over heal... you need to keep as much mana as possable, But watch out they have counterspell and if they know how to play their class then they will most likely use it. Don't freak out just wait until you can heal yourself again or bandage yourself. If the mage is getting ready for a big spell or if they are going to sheep you then earthshock them or if your CD is up for the grounding totem then place it again (if they start casting for the Sheep then you would want to do earthshock). once your free, more times than not they probley rebuffed themselves... So purge them once again, move up and replace earthbind and stormstrike. You want to stay as close as possable to the mage and do as much melee as you can. If they start jumping around trying to get away then frostshock to cut down on the movement. Remember if you see a shield pop up around the mage make sure you purge them first before going into melee or use any of your spells. If your happen to make a Windfury proc then your on your way to victory. Just remember Stay close, Purge, USE YOUR TOTEMS, shock spells, and heal... Make the Mage run out of mana before you do. Also make sure you pay attention on what spell they are casting. Most times they will cast a low costing spell so you can get rid of your earthshock, leaveing you defendless against bigger heavier damageing spell. So if it's small (small meaning fast cast time), don't waste your earthshock but if you see that they are casting something big then USE IT! your melee should do the rest If you got any trinkets that will increase damage then use them. If they place their elemetal then place your fire elemetal (if your CD is down then treat the Elemetal as if it you were faceing a hunter... Ignore it and put your full attack on the mage. use the melee and mana Only on the Mage, not the Elemetal... Hopefully you'll kill the mage before the elemetal kills you.)

Warlocks are a tougher fight because of their DOTs and Fear. If you can get the jump on them then you have a higher chance of winning. If not then you better rely on your luck. I win most of my battles against locks but that's because most of the times I'll proc a WF crit. You got nothing agaist a Warlocks Dots but you would treat them almost as the same as a mage. Purge first, by then they probably have their dots on you. Once you see them casting something place your grounding totem... Many Warlocks clam that they'll just wand your totem but actually this is what I want them to do. I want them to lose focus on me so I can move up as close to them as much I can. I guess they believe that they can mlti-task but really I haven't seen anyone move fast enough to auto attack my totems while iam chargeing at them at the same time. Most battle I've been with I have notice they won't recast their sheild buff or any other buffs so you shouldn't have to worry about recasting purge. once i get maybe 10 yards I'll place my tremor totem and stormstrike and frostshock them ( because you won't be able to place earthbind of course.) You can slow them down and melee them to death. I tend to dump my mana quite quickly when faceing a Warlock. For me i always like to keep my tremor totem as close to the battle as I can ( I know the range is 30 yards but I guess it's just an old habbit or something.) Really when faceing a lock it all depends on Luck. If you can place your grounding totem or earthshock before they get a spell off then you just saved yourself for awhile. but really just do the same as you would with the mage. Purge, grounding totem or earthshock, tremor totem and try to stay as close as you can to them. As always treat classes with pet the same as you would against a hunter... Ignore it and hopefully you'll kill the lock before he kills you. But if you know your gunna die then their is no better way to piss off a lock then by killing their pet.

Totems are can be very helpfully in a fight. just make sure you use the right ones! 


*I really do hope this helps*

personally, im a mage who has just started a shammy. in retrospect, ive nvr had problems with shammys unless they were resto, the insta cast heal kinda fucked my mana. this shit im hearin about just purgin a mages shield n watchin em freak out confuses me. not once has a shammy or loc puppy purged and i freaked. the guy above me seems to have forgotten some fundamental mage tactics. first off, if ur comin at me like a big hulkin truck (either tauren or drenai, take ur pick) im gonna let u get in as close as i feel comfortable with, blink behind u, then sheep u while ur turnin. ofcourse, while ur sheeped, id get rid of any totem u placed, then pyroblast ur ass. if, at any point u popped sheep i.e. with trink or just got lucky, id come in close, Arcane torrent(im a BE forgot to mention) then resheep u. then id pyro, follow with fireblast (if ur close, follow with blast wave), then dragon's breath if ur a douche n tried to melee me. im fire specd, but dont think i dont have survivabilty. ill just ice block to wait for my CDs to finish. if i see u castin a heal, ill break IB then counter spell u, then quickly finish the job.

all in all, any time 2 good players meet in BG or arena or duel, its gonna be a tough battle.

oh, n FYI, most of the really good pvp locs ive seen didnt use a puppy against a shammy, they used their succubus, made it hard for shammy to do much while he was seduced.

if u think ive said something wrong, let me know. i always like learnin new thing

oh, right, forgot to mention. arena locs will usually summon their VW b4 the arena starts, sacrifice him with 15 secs to go b4 the match starts, then summon any pet they want. that gives them a 15 second bubble at the start of an arena. good luck. Horde FTW

Good advice Sujin456 and others.  I really haven't done any pvp with my shaman (resto).  He is only lvl 44 so not everything applies but you gave me good ideas.  It sounds like a shaman may actually be able to be competitive pvp, if he is smart. Clearly, you folks have had a lot of experience. 
Thanks for your time.

Hi Youngjeezy,

It sounds like you've had a lot of experience dualing with your mage and that you've found effective ways to counter strategies that a shaman might typically use.  I'm not experienced enough to intelligently critique your strategy(I've had virtually no experience with mages) and have no intention of doing so.  I'm simply interrested in learning more about the strengths, weaknesses and practical tactics involving shamans. 

So my question to you is what strategy would YOU use to counter a mage who knows what they're doing? 

Let me clarify my previous post.  I'm interrested in what you would do, as a shaman, to counter a mage.

ok, good counters for the sham are EXACTLY as mentioned above...
lol, but tell u what...the only problem u never noticed is...have u ever had a sham SNEAK u?
thats when mages go into DEEP DEEP shit
enhancement as i've played it always is meant to be an assasin's dream...just wait and murder...(i kno it sounds melodramatic but when u feel it at the higher lvls, u'll agree with me)
the main problem with mages is that they tend to focus (and duh rightly) on keeping their enemies in range and single mindedly strike him to death...
so, in a duel i'll give it to a mage, he has a distinct upper-hand what given his crits and stuff
but, in a BG, the mage will get SMASHED...reason being he'll never see u dart out from behind that tree, purge on the go, reach him in a matter of 1-2 secs and when u land that huge smash with that stormstrike and then WF crits...wow a mack truck will feel like a feather...thats the main thing...
THATS where the diff lies...
the enhancement isnt meant to be a warrior stly spec where u can just stand blinking for 20seconds and still lose only half ur health...its more cunning and damage in 5 secs and wipe spec...i am not kidding and honestly i can tell u, i literally 1 shot mages in the BG...(ok, thats unfair...lets say 1 button...stormstrike)
in that windswept moment, given decent armor and stuff u'll have enuf buffs to proc that WF crit (keep crit rates high) and wow they'll be DEAD bfore they kno it...
mages CURSE enhc shams for that wipe ability trust me...

but honestly i've faced only noob mages in duels who never once counterspelt or did the neat blink and strike thing...
yea, when ur up against skill like that, :) enjoy, its the game that matters, killing is only a part of it :P

i'll be MUCH delighted to hear what the mage here has to say about this and his takes on countering his own stratagem

    I am a 70 orc enhance shammy who just currently transfered to Ghostlands..... i got no greens with full vindicator and gladiator working on the arena. I take down locks and mages EASY and ill tell u how to own them.
    MAGES----mages are really easy if u know what u are doing. if they use their mana shield, use purge to get rid of it. do not use earth shock until they use a channeling spell (or if they keep casting instants bash em in the head for being a noob mage) u also wanna use earthbind totem because mages are panzees and like to run and cast instant shit. once their shield is gone i almost 1 shot em if i crit windfury.
    WARLOCKS-----in my opinion warlocks are 3x harder then mages. they fear, dot, fear again, shadowbolt, FEAR AGAIN. to beat these asses, ALWAYS drop tremor totem, it hates me and kicks in once it is over but thats just me itll work for u trust me. Also, if u dont get the totem in time and he fears u, use ur trinket if u have it (medallion of the horde/alliance) if ur trinket is still cooldowning use earth shock. Also, u might wanna use grounding totem when he uses fear or shadowbolt, that crap. once he cant cast anything maul the shit out of his ass.

trinket is ur best bet to break fear...
ok, the tremor totem is a JOKE not just a problem YOU face mate...
it has a once in prolly 5 secs proc and the range isn all that jaw dropping meaning that well, unless u pretty much (due to sheer luck and the WoW program taking pity on u) run around in a circle aronud ur totem for 5 secs at least is the totem going to help...
grounding, yep the most AMAZING lil totem i've come across...
throw a 10k firebolt crit at you, and it'll just jump up, absorb the entire thing and when ur laughing ur arse off frying the mage's balls he's prolly wondering what the hell on earth his fireball hit!
i only wish the CD was a lil lower (talents bring it down a LITTLE not good enuf tho)...say a 5 sec CD lol we'll be amongst the most UBER class against the mage
wth we will be invincible almost

no prob wit mage and warlock. they barely get me down below 80% and no im not enhance or resto

if we had plate we would be best class

hey this is whiterhino57 forgot the Pw so i had to make a new one. Anyways, i am full epiced out now, almost full vengeful, all gladiator, all vindicator, necklace, rings, etc. Mages, i dont even see any challenge to me anymore.grounding totem, and earthbind will keep them close to you. purge the bubble, then just kill them. for locks, its a bit different. i still never get beat my locks but i do if theres like 100 of alliance chasing me. always place tremor and grounding totem. once they use all their fears use earthbind to catch em and use tremor again. earth shock their fears only because if u earth shock them b4 a fear, they are gunna cast it. due to all these things to get out of fear you have the choice to use frost shock. once u get close just windfury their ass. once you kill him, heal yourself. if no mana, eat something. if no food use a potion. if no potions, ur gunna fucking die unless some freaking troll or sumthing heals you.

dude here is the deal and no b.s. shaman vs lock goes like this. he wwho gets the drop(first hit/ surprise)usually wins. im speaking for level 70 toons that are equally equally equipped though equipment doesnt really matter that much . a shaman who can drop a grounding totem cast a bolt and a earthstrike or frost then hit with a stormstrike can bring the cloth wearer to his knees. on the other side a mage who can cast arcane missles, hit you with a frost spell to freeze or slow you down then unload on you with arcane blast and dip to get space with blink if oyu do close the gap can make a shamans life hell. if oyu wana suceed in arena it will be rough, so choose a partner well. if your hitting up bgs its all bout stategy and not getting caught with you pants down. terrain can be a shamans best friend. i speak from an enhance shammy point of view. resto has a few tricks that increase there survival against mages dps, but without the high dps it may need to outlast a skilled mage. elemental with his guarenteed crit and increase range can give fits.

Ok bit about me first, my main is a lvl afflic 70 lock and I have a lvl 60 enhan shammy.

one of the main problems that shammys (and other classes have) when fighting locks is you cant tell what spec they are straight away (unless they have gone fully down the demo tree and have felguard. Not knowing this creates a significant disadvantage. You may think this doesn't matter as you will be able to nuke em down (either melee or through spells). This isn't the case.

Affl locks have a high range on there dots and cant be dispelled by you, the dots are also instant, I can cast, improved cor, drain life, immolate and agony in a matter of secs, in addition to drain life and the best of all unstable affliction. So in the 5 secs it takes you to get to me, your life is ticking away. I then run like hell, lol, you chase me (Benny Hill music playing in the back ground), so then u whack me!! OUCH!! At which point I use my Howl (massive fear, instant through aff talents) or sedduce u, by this point ur gonna be down to 30%, then I shadowbolt you to death. The problem for aff locks is if you have a dispel class with you (pally/priest etc), however if they try and remove the unstable afflic, it stuns the healer and does around 2k damage to them. While all this is taking place and I'm running like a crazy woman, I will have instantly dotted the healer (if in arena), so what do they do dispell/heal themself or you? If by chance the healer removes all the dots off you then succy becomes thier best friend and sedduces them, rinse and repeat. Aff locks are very very mana efficient and will life tap and drain you for more mana.

You may ask, how can I fight them then? Answer is simple, you gotta ghostwolf to me as fast as u can and pop Tremor and Grounding totem straight away, most locks will instantly try and use fear, not gonna work if you have tremor out then beat me to death shocking me as much as possible, I'll go down fast.

Slightly different on a Ele Shammy, then same applies, dot ya and keep out of ya lightening range.

Demo Locks are different, they dont have the range of affliction or destuction locks. The advantage of this build is they can instantly summon correct minion for correct job needed. Ignore them. DPS lock whether you be melee or spell. Demo's share damage with minion so we are a little harder to take down, however there is a trick. Demo locks only have one instant fear (death coil) which will be wasted with tremor totem. We also only have one instant dot (agony) so if u get close get close or if ur ranged stay at range limit. The main advantage that all shammy builds have over this lock build is that fact that demo locks cant move and cast.

Finally destruction, this build has long range dps, high crit chance on shadowbolt and dd damge of immolate and incinerate. They also posses a talent called backlash with prov quite alot, hit a lock with ranged or melee instant shadowbolt. The disadvantage is mana, they will use it v fast and be as useful as a chocolate fire guard.

Anyway that sums up lock info 101, I'm sure alot will disagree but I dont have any problems taking down shammys except restro (but all heal classes are a pain)

Cheers

a shaman can beat a lock or mage easilly just tremor with means you can be feared or a locks sucbaus cant make you fall in love. then eatrhshock stops there first cast then grounding totem absorbs there second cast useing frostbiter on your wepon will slow them so they can run. and just continue using earthshocks and grounding totems. ive never lost to a lock or mage and dont plan on it anytime soon.

oh and you need to start all that of with purging there sheilds and buffs off

shammy can kill both mages and lock fast because both mage and locks has low health and low armor.

shammy can use totems to get the upper hand and earth shock + stormstrike = mass damage and no spells ^^

shammy's spell "shamanistic rage" will turn the table hard ^^

shammy's purge will make all their sweet buffs into mana wasting spell if they try to cast them again!!!